Do You Dryhop Your Pale Ales?

[Heavywalker]

Thread Title says it all. Please discuss

 

[boydster]

Yes. Of course. How far are you from Yakima Valley? Willamette? You live right next to the place where some of the best American hops are grown. If I lived there, I would probably be working on a contact for pirated rhizomes. Then I would dry hop EVERYTHING!!! Beer... check. Mead... check. Kool-aid... double-check. Milk for my cereal in the morning... hell, yeah. :rockin:

 

[Nightshade]

Yes. Of course. How far are you from Yakima Valley? Willamette? You live right next to the place where some of the best American hops are grown. If I lived there, I would probably be working on a contact for pirated rhizomes. Then I would dry hop EVERYTHING!!! Beer... check. Mead... check. Kool-aid... double-check. Milk for my cereal in the morning... hell, yeah. :rockin:

Yak Valley isn't everything you think it is and neither is the Willamette. Don't get me wrong lots of hops and nice enough but not hop utopia, must be from being around it all the time that makes it all seem so common and makes you crave things like Magnum, Amarillo and loads of Challenger.


As for dry hopping Pales...really depends on my mood and what I am trying to accomplish with it.

 

[Nagorg]

Yes! In fact, drinking a fantastic dry hopped pale right now... Like dem hops....

 

[kh54s10]

Depends. I have dry hopped a couple of times and will be dry hopping my next one but no, most do not get dry hopped.

 

[Heavywalker]

The reason I ask is because I just took a hydro sample of a pale ale and its aroma is amazing.

I the hop schedule was

Chinook .5oz FWH
Chinook .5 oz 20 min
Simcoe .5 oz at 10
.5 oz each of Citra and Amarillo at 5
and .5 oz each of Citra Amarillo and Simcoe at flameout, whirlpooled for 20 min

I planned on dry hopping with an once each of Amarillo and Citra. The aroma is so intense right now I am not sure that it would add much.

 

[boydster]

Yak Valley isn't everything you think it is and neither is the Willamette. Don't get me wrong lots of hops and nice enough but not hop utopia, must be from being around it all the time that makes it all seem so common and makes you crave things like Magnum, Amarillo and loads of Challenger.


As for dry hopping Pales...really depends on my mood and what I am trying to accomplish with it.

I dunno... Cascade, CTZ, Simcoe, Amarillo, Citra, Willamette, Centennial, Mount Hood, I mean the list goes on. I suppose I could get disenchanted with some of the PNW hops if I really tried, but there are just so many varieties that I think I'd have to try really hard.

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of styles that I wouldn't typically dry hop and some that I wouldn't consider using a lot of the PNW varietals for any part of. But for an APA, the hops coming from the west coast are great for giving a signature flavor and aroma whether used as late boil hops or post-boil hops, and I try to use just enough at each stage to build the hop presence to where I want it.

 

[boydster]

The reason I ask is because I just took a hydro sample of a pale ale and its aroma is amazing.

I the hop schedule was

Chinook .5oz FWH
Chinook .5 oz 20 min
Simcoe .5 oz at 10
.5 oz each of Citra and Amarillo at 5
and .5 oz each of Citra Amarillo and Simcoe at flameout, whirlpooled for 20 min

I planned on dry hopping with an once each of Amarillo and Citra. The aroma is so intense right now I am not sure that it would add much.

If you bottle, you have to assume that aroma will fade over the 3 weeks or so that you are waiting for it to carb. If you keg (I don't, but I read things sometimes), I hear that adding dry hops in a hop bag directly to the keg is THE way to get the most intense hop nose into your beer. That may not be what you are looking for with a pale ale, or it might be exactly what you want, I don't know what you are going for, just food for thought.

 

[stpug]

Depends, but generally not.

 

[Chadwick]

Sometimes I get a hankering for that flower like aroma and gentle touch that dry hopping imparts on my pale ales. It was a hit and miss thing until the day I decided to dry hop with Columbus for the heck of it. The results impressed me so much that I'm tempted to dry hop with it more often than not. Columbus is a powerful hop when used in about any part of the boil. However, dry hopping with a touch of it adds a floral magic that just has to be tasted to believe. Try a 1/2 ounce to your hop bag 4-5 days before you bottle that next batch of pale and see for yourself.

 

[CorwinGraves]

@Heavywalker - looks like a great hop schedule. Mind sharing the rest of the recipe? And no, I don't generally drop hop pale ales, but might have to change that.

 

[Heavywalker]

@Heavywalker - looks like a great hop schedule. Mind sharing the rest of the recipe? And no, I don't generally drop hop pale ales, but might have to change that.

It is an extract recipe. I boil 3 gallons and top up to 5.

Used 6lbs of extra light DME
Bring to boil remove from flame and add half DME add remaining DME at 10 minutes left in boil

Steeping grains are
8 oz Carahell
8 oz Carapils
4 oz Crystal 40

Steeped at 155 for 30 minutes

60 minute boil

I also add Irish moss at 10 minutes 1/2 tsp

Yeast is WLP001 with a 1 liter starter ferment at 64*F.

I usually let my beers go 3 weeks in primary if the SG is good, I will dry hop the last week if I do it.

BTW I call this my Freedom APA I brew it on Memorial day and serve it at my 4th of July party.

 

[Heavywalker]

If you bottle, you have to assume that aroma will fade over the 3 weeks or so that you are waiting for it to carb. If you keg (I don't, but I read things sometimes), I hear that adding dry hops in a hop bag directly to the keg is THE way to get the most intense hop nose into your beer. That may not be what you are looking for with a pale ale, or it might be exactly what you want, I don't know what you are going for, just food for thought.

Good point I will take that into consideration. I want to have a good nose on the beer for sure. I think I will take a gallon and not dry hop and see what it does compared to the rest.

 

[quincy07]

I dry hopped my last APA w Willamette and am a big fan. It my first pale but will likely do it again.

 

[Shuznuts]

I'm a big fan of dry hoping in the keg. Amazing evolution of flavors as the keg empties.



Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[stpug]

I'm a big fan of dry hoping in the keg. Amazing evolution of flavors as the keg empties.



Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

Very true statement there. The evolution is vast, and while I still enjoy tasting through the changes, I have found that at about 2 weeks of cold dry hopping to be perfect for my palate.